$7 Million Lost in CoinDash ICO Hack

An initial coin offering (ICO) for a little-known startup project called CoinDash was abruptly halted today when it was revealed the sale had been compromised shortly after it began.

In total, the ICO was able to raise $7.53m before the ethereum address it was using to solicit funds was altered to a fake one by an unidentified hacker, resulting in the ether going to another source.

At the time of publication, the CoinDash website has been shut down, and the project is asking investors who have been affected to submit information to the provided link to collect the CoinDash token (CDT) they should be rewarded through the sale.

The company’s statement reads:

“Contributors that sent ETH to the fraudulent Ethereum address, which was maliciously placed on our website, and sent ETH to the CoinDash.io official address will receive their CDT tokens accordingly.”

Notably, as the project is still under attack, and the sale has been terminated.

In a statement, CoinDash urged investors not to send any ether to any address, since “transactions sent to any fraudulent address after the website was shut down will not be compensated.”

The hacking of this ICO is reminiscent of last year when $50m was stolen in a similar fashion from a project called The DAO. As such, the event will likely again draw attention to possible security issues in ICO funding, amid their escalating popularity.

Hacked image via Shutterstock

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.